“Smart money”: a double measure to support projects and investments in the risk capital of innovative start-ups

Smart money is a measure that provides facilities to improve the meeting between innovative startups and the network of incubators, with the aim of strengthening the presence of startups in Italy and supporting their potential.

The Ministry of Economic Development, with the Decree of 18/09/2020, defined the conditions, procedures and terms for the granting of the contributions provided for by the “Smart Money” subsidy, pursuant to Article 38, paragraph 2, of “Relaunch decree”.

The application can be submitted from 12pm of 24th June. Th call will be opened until resources are exhausted.

What is “Smart Money”?

“Smart Money” aims to promote the strengthening of the start-up system and to support them in the implementation of development projects by facilitating the encounter with the innovation ecosystem.

The measure aims to support the potential of innovative companies preparing them to face up to the market.

Companies that are in the initial phase of their activity can apply for a grant to support the purchase of services provided by authorized entities, such as incubators, accelerators, research organizations and innovation hubs.

“Smart Money” incentives are aimed at innovative startups that intend to take advantage of the specialized services and qualified know-how of the representatives of the innovation ecosystem to define their business project and to prepare them for market launch.

Once the activity plan has been completed, start-ups that meet the required requirements can request a second non-refoundable grant.

The initiative is promoted by the Ministry of Economic Development and managed by Invitalia, the incentive has a financial endowment of 9.5 million euros.

What does “Smart money” aim to?

“Smart Money” is a measure envisaged by the MISE, in the form of contributions, aimed at:

assist innovative start-ups in supporting the costs associated with the implementation of an activity plan in collaboration with the actors of the innovation ecosystem, operating for the development of innovative companies. In this case, the contributions support up to 80% of the costs incurred for the implementation of the business plans, up to a maximum of 10,000.00 Euros for each innovative start-up.
allow the players of the innovation ecosystem to enter the risk capital of innovative start-ups. In this case, the latter would be awarded contributions equal to 100% of the investment in risk capital implemented by the actors of the enabled innovation ecosystem, up to a total limit of 30,000.00 Euros for each innovative start-up.

Who are the recipients and the participation requirements?

Innovative start-ups (or natural persons who intend to set up one) can access the aforementioned facilities if, on the date of submission of the application, they are in possession, among others, of these requirements:

are classifiable as small businesses duly established for less than 24 months, registered in the special section of the Business Register and with registered and operational headquarters located throughout the national territory;
are in the early stages of starting the business or experimenting with the business idea (pre-seed), or in the creation phase of the product/market fit combination (seed);
do not operate in the primary agriculture, fishing and aquaculture sectors.

Furthermore, innovative start-ups (or natural persons who intend to set up one) must submit a development project with the following characteristics:

is based on an innovative solution to be proposed on the market, already identified at the time of the submission of the subsidy application, although to be consolidated in the more operational aspects;
provides for the direct commitment of the partners of the proposing company and/or a team with adequate technical and managerial skills or, alternatively, the consolidation of the team and such skills through the search for professionalism available on the market;
is aimed at creating the prototype (Minimum Viable Product) or the first industrial application of the product or service to certify feedback from customers and / or investors.

When is the deadline for submitting the application?

Applications can be submitted starting from 12.00 on 24 June 2021. There is no well-defined deadline for the call as the application can be submitted until resources are exhausted.

In order to submit the application for admission to the “Smart Money” concessions, some documents are also required which vary according to the type of company.

The importance of legal support

The Coscia Law Firm, thanks to its expertise and experience in the field of business consultancy and assistance in obtaining incentives and funding both nationally and in Europe:

provides interested companies with all the information regarding the requirements and methods of access to the “Smart money” intervention, assessing in advance the existence of the necessary conditions to obtain the incentives;
assists its clients in preparing the necessary documentation and in forwarding it according to the procedures set out in the notice;
manages the practice until its conclusion.

Contact us immediately at +39 3711453121 or by e-mail at info@studiolegalecoscia.it, to obtain contributions of the “Smart money” intervention.